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Oral Answer by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on supply of labour from overseas retailers of consumer goods

Foreign manpower Employment practices

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1533 OF 2019 FOR THE SITTING ON 18 FEBRUARY

QUESTION NO. 2592 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Ong Teng Koon

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether overseas retailers of consumer goods are allowed to supply labour to install such goods in Singapore for Singapore customers if such labour do not have the requisite permits to work in Singapore; and (b) if not, whether the Ministry has any enforcement plans to keep the playing field level for local retailers.

Answer

  1. Foreigners working in Singapore must hold a valid work pass, and those who install consumer goods such as furniture and air-conditioning from overseas retailers are not exempted from this requirement. This helps to ensure that all businesses are operating on a level playing field.
  2. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, illegal workers can be fined a maximum of $20,000, or subjected to imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both. MOM has also taken action to bar such illegal workers from entering and working in Singapore for up to 2 years. Anyone with information on such illegal workers should report to MOM. Information can be found on MOM’s website.